ISIS BRIDE Lisa Smith's repatriation to Ireland is reportedly set to be fast-tracked to ease pressure on overcrowded refugee camps in Syria.
Co. Louth native Smith, 37, was granted permission to return home along with her two-year-old daughter Ruqayya last month by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
Smith, who served as a member of the Irish Defence Forces until 2011 before converting to Islam and travelling to Syria in 2015, is currently being held with her child by Kurdish forces in a camp in northern Syria.
The 37-year-old was detained in early March after fleeing the remnants of the Islamic State terror group's ‘caliphate’ in the war-torn region of Baghouz.
Kurds operating the camps where hundreds of former ISIS members and their families are being held have now warned they will ship home European detainees such as Smith in groups to ease the strain brought by swelling camp numbers, according to the Irish Independent.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said repatriating Lisa Smith would be the "compassionate" thing to do (Image: Getty)One Government source told the newspaper that the transfer of small groups to a third Middle Eastern country to await onward repatriation will be a much faster process than individual transfers.
In an interview last month, Smith begged the Irish Government to rescue her from her Syrian "prison".
Speaking dressed in a niqab with her young child in her hands, the Smith said she was well aware that prison time may await her back in Ireland.
"I know they'd strip me of my passport and I wouldn't be able to travel and I'd be watched kind of," she said.
"But prisons, I don't know? I'm already in prison."
The Taoiseach and Tánaiste Simon Coveney previously stated that while Smith's case would be closely examined to assess whether she was guilty of any criminality, she and her child had the right to return to Ireland as it was the "compassionate" thing to do.
Discussions are ongoing between Irish authorities and groups including the International Red Cross and Red Crescent to map out a clear plan for the repatriation.
The United States, staunch allies of the Kurds in the Syrian Civil War, recently warned European countries they needed to accept back their nationals detained by US-backed forces in Syria and Iraq.
